WQLL

Last updated
WQLL
Broadcast area Baltimore, Maryland
Frequency 1370 kHz
BrandingBaltimore’s BIN 1370
Programming
Format All-news radio
Network Black Information Network
Ownership
OwnerM-10 Broadcasting, Inc.
Operator iHeartMedia, Inc.
WCBM
History
First air date
April 5, 1955
(69 years ago) (1955-04-05)
Former call signs
  • WEBB (1955–1992)
  • WHLP (1992–1993)
  • WWLG (1993–2006)
  • WVIE (2006–2012)
Former frequencies
1360kHz (1955–2002)
Call sign meaning
WQLL(Cool)
Technical information [1]
Licensing authority
 FCC
Facility ID 27691
Class B
Power 50,000 watts day
24,000 watts night
Transmitter coordinates
Translator(s) 99.9 W260BV (Aberdeen)
Links
Public license information
Webcast Listen live (via iHeartRadio)
Website baltimore.binnews.com

WQLL (1370 AM) is a radio station broadcasting an all-news radio format. Licensed to Pikesville, Maryland, United States, a northwest suburb of the city in Baltimore County, it serves the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Contents

The station is currently owned by M-10 Broadcasting, Inc. and features programming from iHeartMedia's Black Information Network.

History

The station signed on originally in 1955 as WEBB on 1360 kHz on the AM radio dial. It established a well-known reputation in the city's black population with its dynamic, memorable DJs and pounding soul, blues, the Motown sound and other increasingly fractured sounds of developing rock music. In 1970, it was sold to famous entertainer and funk / soul music performer James Brown, (1933-2006), (later known as the "Godfather of Soul"!) who instituted an "Urban Contemporary" format and continued its popularity and competition among Baltimore's Afro-American black community. As a result of a bankruptcy proceeding, Brown sold WEBB to Dorothy E. Brunson, (1939-2011), in 1979. Brunson had formerly been a radio executive with the Inner City Broadcasting Corporation of New York City since 1973, where they owned five radio stations. [2] Brunson would later sell her radio stations eleven years later, including WEBB, in 1990, in order to provide funds with her partnership/syndicate for her newly-purchased UHF television station, WGTW-TV (formerly WKBS - Channel 48) in Philadelphia becoming the first African-American woman to own a television station in America. [3] The station's call sign was changed briefly to WHLP "Jobs Radio" in 1992, where help wanted ads were read on-air. The station received national attention as the first (possibly only) radio station dedicated to helping listeners find jobs. The jobs radio format was short-lived, and the call letters were changed to WWLG in 1993. WWLG-AM operated with an "adult standards" format which included big band and swing music and some early jazz, first popularized in the 1930s and 1940s which had not been heard regularly over Baltimore's airwaves for several decades except for a short interlude earlier on competing WAYE (AM 860) in the late 1980s which then had billed itself as "Big Band 86". The station changed broadcast frequency a decade later from its longtime position on the dial at 1360 kHz to 1370 kHz on July 22, 2002, which allowed it to operate with increased power but with highly directional signals from separate day and night transmitter sites.

Serving as the only regional station playing the "Great Depression" and World War II era music remembered by what came to be known as "the Greatest Generation", the station's hosts/DJ's and publicity staff encouraged and supported a number of unofficial fan clubs, singers and bands/orchestra followers, organizing social events, dances and musical concerts in the area, including touring national combos and several well-known local performers such as Zim Zemarel and His Orchestra.

After 13 years with the "big band"/"swing" musical programming (an unusually long time in the frequently unstable, changeable radio broadcasting industry), in June 2006, WWLG became WVIE, billed as "V-1370, The Voice", a talk station aimed at women with programming from Joy Browne, Laura Ingraham, Tammy Bruce, Laura Schlessinger, and longtime TV talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael. By late 2007, Bruce and Raphael had been dropped in favor of non-female oriented / general talk radio programming with conservative viewpoints such as Mancow Muller, Glenn Beck, and Phil Hendrie. On September 8, 2008, WVIE moved to a sports talk format, advertised as "Fox Sports Radio 1370".

After two and a half years, in May 2011, WVIE began moving away from the sports format, adding the long-form news/features program "America's Morning News" (syndicated by Talk Radio Network) in morning drive time from 5 to 9 a.m., and returned to the "V-1370" branding. [4] That July, WVIE dropped its locally oriented sports talk shows in favor of carrying "America's Radio News", an all-news network, complementing its sister conservative talk station on the AM dial at WCBM (680); nighttime and weekend programming were still provided by Fox Sports Radio. [5]

A little more than a year later, August 6, 2012, WVIE changed its format to oldies/classic hits, branded as "Q-1370", returning a bit to its previous years from 1993-2006 as WWLG with the 1930s and 1940s era music, only now also supplemented with the tunes from the next two decades of the 1950s and 1960s of the "rock and roll" era with what became known as "oldies" (also occasionally known as "goodies"), with now antique and classic vinyl 45 rpm records. WQLL is now using Classic Hits (Westwood One) programming service for its format and "Alan Lee's Roadhouse Oldies Show" a local enthusiast, appears on Wednesday Nights from 6 pm to 8 pm along with several other nationally syndicated "records and commentary" shows and also including broadcasting UMBC Retrievers men's basketball games from Catonsville/Arbutus's University of Maryland at Baltimore County. [6] On August 7, 2012, the station's call letters were officially changed to WQLL. In September 2013, WQLL added a new translator, W260BV, now broadcasting/transmitting from White Marsh, Maryland in eastern Baltimore County and Bel Air, Maryland in neighboring Harford County on 99.9 FM and rebranded itself as "Q-1370 AM & 99.9 FM" with simultaneous broadcasting on both wavelengths. On May 16, 2016, WQLL added a live, local morning drive program headed by Baltimore radio veteran Steve Rouse ("Rouse and Company"). [7] This show lasted for over a year with Steve's Radio partners, Tracy Hart and Pat O'Neill. In July 2017, Rouse retired from the station for medical reasons. Supporting players "Hart and O'Neill" continued and - upon Hart's exit - O'Neill became the sole host. O'Neill moved to afternoon drive (2:00 - 6:00pm until he resigned in August 2019 to pursue other interests.

Related Research Articles

WBOB is a commercial AM radio station in Jacksonville, Florida. The station airs a talk radio format and is owned by Chesapeake-Portsmouth Broadcasting Corporation. Weekdays begin with a local news and information show, followed by mostly syndicated programming, including shows from Mark Levin, Mike Gallagher, Dennis Prager, Jay Sekulow and Red Eye Radio. Most hours begin with Townhall News. Some hours are paid brokered programming. The station calls itself "Talkradio AM 600 & FM 101.1 WBOB".

WMAL-FM – branded 105.9 FM WMAL – is a radio station licensed to Woodbridge, Virginia, serving the Washington, D.C. Metro area. WMAL-FM airs a talk radio format and is owned and operated by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located at 4400 Jenifer Street NW in Washington, two blocks from the city's border with Maryland, and the transmitter site is in Falls Church, Virginia, off Lee Highway. WMAL-FM is co-owned with sports radio station WSBN at 630 kHz; the WMAL call sign and talk format originated on that station, and the two stations simulcast from 2011 to 2019.

WHBQ – branded Sports 56 WHBQ – is a commercial sports AM radio station licensed to serve Memphis, Tennessee. Owned by Flinn Broadcasting, the station covers the Memphis metropolitan area, and is the local affiliate for Fox Sports Radio, the Memphis Redbirds, and Ole Miss Rebels football and basketball. The WHBQ studios and transmitter are located in the city of Memphis. Besides a standard analog transmission, WHBQ is available online. The station is also simulcast over translator W253DF at 98.5 FM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KFXR (AM)</span> Radio station in Dallas, Texas

KFXR is a commercial AM radio station in Dallas, Texas, and serving the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. It is owned by iHeartMedia and airs a talk radio format. Its studios and offices are located along Dallas Parkway in Farmers Branch. By day, KFXR is powered at 50,000 watts, the maximum for commercial AM stations. The daytime transmitter is in Irving, using a directional antenna with a four-tower array. At night, to avoid interfering with other stations on 1190 AM, it reduces power to 5,000 watts. The nighttime transmitter is in Rockwall, using a twelve-tower array directional antenna.

WGOP is a commercial radio station licensed to Pocomoke City, Maryland, United States. Currently silent, the station most recently featured an oldies/MOR format. Owned by Birach Broadcasting and operated under a local marketing agreement (LMA) with Mike Powell, the station is one of a few in Birach's portfolio to feature a general entertainment format, whose specialty is brokered ethnic formats. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WGOP had been relayed over low-power translator W293DN.

WTNT is a Spanish hits AM radio station licensed to Alexandria, Virginia and serving the Washington metro area. WTNT is owned and operated by Metro Radio. 730 kHz is a Canadian and Mexican clear-channel frequency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQSR</span> Adult hits radio station in Baltimore, Maryland, US

WQSR is a commercial radio station licensed Baltimore, Maryland. The station is owned by iHeartMedia through licensee iHM Licenses, LLC. It broadcasts an adult hits radio format, using the syndicated "Jack FM" service and trademark. There are no DJs. Instead, a prerecorded male voice representing himself as "Jack" makes sarcastic and ironic quips.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KSTN (AM)</span> Radio station in Stockton, California

KSTN (1420 kHz is a commercial AM radio station in Stockton, California, owned by Robert LaRue, and licensed by KSTN, LLC. It airs a country music radio format, known as "105.9 The Bull."

WBTC is an AM radio station in Uhrichsville, Ohio, United States, broadcasting on 1540 kHz with a classic hits format.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KUFO</span> Radio station in Portland, Oregon

KUFO is a commercial radio station licensed to Portland, Oregon. The station, owned by Alpha Media, calls itself "Freedom 970" and airs a talk radio format. KUFO's offices and studios are on Southwest 5th Avenue in Portland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WSSP</span> Sports radio station in Milwaukee

WSSP is a commercial radio station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, owned by Audacy, Inc. It airs a sports radio format known as "1250 AM The Fan." Most of its programs are from CBS Sports Radio and the BetQL Network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WHLS</span> Radio station in Michigan, United States

WHLS is an alternative rock radio station licensed to Port Huron, Michigan, with a power output of 1,000 watts, covering much of St. Clair County, Michigan. It is the oldest continuously operating radio station serving St. Clair County. The station is owned by Radio First and broadcasts from studios on Huron Avenue in Downtown Port Huron. Its programming is also simulcasted on FM Translator W288BT, licensed to St. Clair, Michigan at 105.5 MHz, with an effective radiated power of 49 watts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WLKR (AM)</span> Radio station in Norwalk, Ohio

WLKR – branded 92.9 WLKR Classic – is a commercial daytime-only classic hits AM radio station licensed to serve Norwalk, Ohio, covering the Norwalk/Sandusky/Port Clinton market, including Erie and Huron counties. Owned by Elyria-Lorain Broadcasting Co., the WLKR studios are located in Milan, while the station transmitter resides near the intersection of Huber Road and Lamereaux Road just outside of Norwalk. In addition to a standard analog transmission, WLKR simulcasts over low-power analog Norwalk translator W225DG, and is also available online.

WWAC is a commercial radio station licensed to Ocean City, New Jersey, and serving the Atlantic City area of the Jersey Shore. It is owned by Enrico S. Brancadora, broadcasting a country format. WWAC is co-owned with WIBG-FM, a classic hits station licensed to Avalon, New Jersey.

WDOD was a United States radio station serving the Chattanooga, Tennessee area. The station was last owned by Bahakel Communications out of Charlotte, North Carolina, and offered a sports talk format. WDOD was the oldest radio station in Chattanooga, having gone on the air on April 13, 1925.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFNT</span> Radio station in Flint, Michigan

WFNT is a commercial AM radio station in Flint, Michigan. It is owned by Townsquare Media and until December 31, 2023, broadcast a talk radio format. The studios and transmitter are on East Bristol Road in Burton.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WQNT</span> Radio station in Charleston, South Carolina

WQNT is a commercial radio station in Charleston, South Carolina. It is owned by Kirkman Broadcasting and it airs a classic hits radio format, playing songs from the 1970s and 80s. The playlist leans toward classic rock, only playing a few pop, ballad and dance titles per hour. The studios are on Markfield Drive in the West Ashley neighborhood of Charleston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KKAT (AM)</span> Radio station in Salt Lake City, Utah

KKAT is an AM radio station broadcasting a talk format. KKAT is licensed to Salt Lake City, Utah and is owned by Cumulus Media. The station's studios are located in South Salt Lake.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WCGR</span> Radio station in Canandaigua, New York

WCGR is a radio station broadcasting a soft classic rock format. Licensed to Canandaigua, New York, United States, the station is currently owned by Canandaigua Broadcasting, Inc. and features programming from ABC Radio and Dial Global.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">KPTY (AM)</span> Radio station in Waterloo, Iowa

KPTY is an AM radio station serving the Waterloo/Cedar Falls metropolitan area with a classic country format. It is under ownership of NRG Media.

References

  1. ↑ "Facility Technical Data for WQLL". Licensing and Management System. Federal Communications Commission.
  2. ↑ "Baltimore Sun: "Dorothy E. Brunson, radio station owner, dies", August 4, 2011". Archived from the original on December 1, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2011.
  3. ↑ "Radio station WEBB is sold owner says format to stay". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  4. ↑ "PressBox: Rob Long's Morning Show Time Change". www.pressboxonline.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24.
  5. ↑ Zurawik, David (June 30, 2011). "Radio station WVIE (1370 AM) drops local sports talk". The Baltimore Sun . Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  6. ↑ "Classic Hits Returns To Baltimore - RadioInsight". 2012-08-06. Retrieved 2022-12-28.
  7. ↑ Munshaw, Jonathan (May 12, 2016). "Steve Rouse's 'Rouse & Company' returning to Baltimore-area airwaves". www.bizjournals.com. Baltimore Business Journal. Retrieved 24 March 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.